After the meeting gets over, I walk around that church with a new light in my eyes. All the adults see me and smile. I see Mr. Daniels talking to some other people, so I decide to walk over to them. “Hey, Sheyann, how did you like the meeting? Did you get the information you needed?” “Mhmm! And I think I want to be a freedom fighter too!” I say happily. The adults look at each other with uncertainty. One of them said, “Sweetheart, do you understand what it means to be a freedom fighter?” “Well, I just learned about y’all today, but I want to learn more and be part of your group,” I say. The adults look at each other with concern, but Jonathan drops down on one knee, so we are at eye level. “You can do anything you set your mind to,” he tells me, “and if you want to be a freedom fighter, then be one. Just make sure you get as much information as possible before you commit to anything major, and be careful. This is not simple stuff. Being a freedom fighter right now can be very dangerous.” He stands back up to the height of the adults. Another one starts up a new conversation. “So, I heard that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is coming in a few days.” “Yes. I heard that too. I think he is exactly what we need to move to the next level with our protests” “He has done so many amazing things already, like talking with the president and really putting everything on the line to stand up for our cause. If there is anyone who can win us the right to vote, it is that man.” This conversation seems so interesting, I don’t ever want to leave, but then, out of nowhere, Rachel appears and grabs my arm to get my attention. “Sheyann, Look!” she said, pointing at a clock on the wall. It was four o’clock! I have been in that meeting all day, and completely missed school! Since both of our schools get out at three, we are usually home around three-thirty. We had to get home right now, or else our parents might wonder what happened to us. “Goodbye, Mr. Daniels!” I say, before grabbing my books and rushing out the door. I cross the street and run down the sidewalk and all the way home. I get home at four fifteen, and instead of using the front door, I go through the side gate and in the back door so I can sneak into my room. I slowly open the back door and carefully close it, being sure not to make a sound. I turn and take careful steps towards the stairs. One. Two. Three. All I must do is make it past the kitchen door and up to my room. Four. Five. In three more steps, I will have reached the stairs. I look through the crack in the kitchen door. There is Mom, beginning to start up dinner. At the table sits Dad, who seems to be taking care of the bills. I make sure Mom is looking down at the stove before I try to sneak past the door. Six. Seven. I have one foot on the first step when I hear “SHEYANN!”. I stop dead in my tracks. “Yes, Mom?” “Come in here.” I reluctantly turn around and slowly come into the kitchen. Mom has a harsh look on her face. Dad looks up from his work. “We got a call today,” Mom says, “The school called us today. They said that you never showed up to class. You know that it is unacceptable to skip school. What do you have to say for yourself?” “We, um, I got a little sidetracked on the way to school. I lost track of the time” I mumble. “Lost track of the time?!” Mom fumes, “How could you be so careless? Haven't I raised you to be more responsible?” “Let’s listen to what she has to say,” Father says to Mom. He then looks at me, “Sheyann, what do you mean sidetracked? Where did you go?” “Well, we were on our way to school. We were walking by Brown Chapel A.M.E.Church. There was this group of people out front. It was weird because it had both white and black people. I decided to go look. So, I went over to check it out. It was a freedom fighter meeting. I was invited in and we got to listen to what they were saying. I think we need to stand up for our rights. We deserve to have a voice.” I tell them. “You went to a civil rights activist meeting?” Asks Dad. “Yeah, we went to a meeting. I was curious, I had only planned to stay a few minutes.” “Sheyann, I don’t want you to get involved in these freedom fighter meetings. Those people will only bring us trouble, do you hear? Things are fine as they are. Yes, it is not easy, but the right thing will always prevail in the end. Right now, we just need to be concerned about our family and our home. Yes. Voting would be nice, but my job is more important. There have been many stories of those of us who register to vote, and are fired the next day. I want to be able to provide for the two of you. I know you are getting older, but this is not the right choice.” Dad tells me, “Now I don’t want to hear of you going to any more of these meetings, understood?” “I understand”, I say slowly, “but...” “No buts!” Mother says, ‘Go to your room.” “Alright,” I say. I turn on my heel and head up to my room. I know my father told me to stay away from the freedom fighter meetings, but how can I leave behind that feeling of purpose that I felt at the meeting? I go to sleep that night thinking about the words Jonathan Daniels said to me. He told me to find as much information as I can about being a freedom fighter before I completely made up my mind. Tomorrow I will have to go back to school. Maybe I can find more information about civil rights there. Who could I ask? I do have one teacher in mind as I drift off to sleep. I also consider the second warning I was given. Be careful.